From Dr Jess MacArthur, WASH Knowledge Broker at the Swiss Blue Community Eawag – Aquatic Research Institute:
Tools for measuring equality in WASH.
When I began this journey, my team and I wrestled with how to define success in the gender and WASH space. Did we want 50% of water businesses to be run by women? Would that be success? Over time, my thinking evolved toward a broader goal: increasing the overall flourishing of all people. That flourishing might include running a water business, but it could also look like something entirely different. As a result, we need better tools to explore what flourishing means in relation to equality and WASH.
A quick note: when we speak about access to WASH services, our goal is equity in service provision, which may require tailored approaches and additional support. But when we speak about the flourishing of people, our goals is to ensure no one is left behind when it comes to rights, opportunities, and outcomes – regardless of gender.’
Today, I highlight two toolboxes that support teams to measure flourishing in equality and WASH.
👉The first is a quantitative toolbox called the WASH‑GEM, which includes a constellation of 17+ measures exploring themes such as control over resources, self‑efficacy, mobility, and wellbeing. These measures have been validated conceptually, practically, and statistically. The paper is open access.
👉The second toolbox is the qualkit, a set of qualitative approaches, tools, and techniques designed to explore changing gender norms, dynamics, and structures within WASH programs (see here).
Authors | Dr Jess MacArthur, Rachel Chase, Diana Gonzalez, Tyler K., Chris Nicoletti, Toeur Veasna, Juliet Willetts, Melita Grant
Organizations | UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures, iDE (International Development Enterprises), SNV
🔙 Today’s historical look back is the Gender Issues Sourcebook for Water and Sanitation Projects (1995) by Wendy Wakeman, prepared on behalf of the Working Group on Gender Issues of the Water and Sanitation Collaborative Council. The sourcebook offers practical tools—such as checklists, guidelines, and activities—to analyze, plan, and evaluate projects based on the different roles, needs, and decision‑making power of women and men.
Photo: Dr Jess MacArthur – A woman enters a latrine in rural Zimbabwe
